How to design a fireworks display

This article was taken from the August 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

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The music underpins everything and will dictate the rhythm of the fireworks. "Go for a strong beat, but with lots of variation," says Lakin. "Big orchestral pieces, film music and opera choruses are fantastic, and a lot of pop music can be very effective. Techno is a lot more difficult -- if it's a constant rhythm with no crescendos and dips, it's hard to find something really emotive out of it." Pick your epic finale music and work backwards from there.

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Lakin rates European-made fireworks for stunning effects: "The Spanish and Italians are brilliant at long-burning shells, these fantastic palm trees with golden trunks that burst, and palm leaves that fall slowly to the ground." A cheaper option is to buy cakes -- Chinese-made bulk fireworks that can be set off at once, and fire a variety of shells over 20 seconds or so.

Tailor the two

Edit your music to match the explosions. "I sometimes massacre the piece of music in order to fit what I'm trying to do," admits Lakin. You can make visual references in what you're doing -- starlight criss-crossed diamond designs for the Jubilee -- but don't drag it out too long: "It's better to do a short, sharp, spectacular show -- if you really fill the sky, people's brains are so overwhelmed they think it has lasted so much longer than it actually has."

This article was first published in the August 2013 issue of WIRED magazine